The present invention relates to a loader for a machine-pistol or the like.
The efficiency of a machine-pistol depends largely on the capacity of the loader provided therefor. Now, this capacity is principally limited by dimensional restrictions, i,e, the weapon provided with its loader requires a convenient transportability, a compactness, the allowance of any shooting position on the field and the like.
For a long time, this problem has given rise to numerous suggestions. The latter may be classified into two groups in relation either with the particular morphology of the ammunition or with a particular arrangement of the loader, the ammunition being a conventional one.
The present invention being related to the second group, only the latter will be described hereafter, it being however understood that it is not excluded to adapt this invention to a new ammunition.
As described hereabove, the capacity of the loader is limited principally owing to the space occupied. Another limitation results from the difficulty of obtaining, from a certain capacity, a correct transportation of the cartridges through the loader when shooting and inversely, an easy filling up of said loader.
An interesting solution is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,624,241. It comprises providing a relatively long loader one end of which has a loading-feeding opening. Said loader is designed to be secured on the upper portion of the body of the weapon and in this axis thereof, said opening being located at right angles with a feeding area. The latter comprises a cylinder-shaped transfer member actuated through the bolt and being intended to receive every time a cartridge for pivoting it on 90.degree., thereby bringing it into the axis of the chamber.
However, the arrangements described in the above U.S. patent have numerous drawbacks.
Firstly, the capacity of the loader is still limited in that, the ammunition coming out at one of the ends thereof, it may extend only from about the center of the body towards the rear portion thereof or approximately from a plane perpendicular to the axis of the weapon and tangential to the free edge of the chamber. Then, with such a loader, it is difficult to obtain a correct a reliable feeding of the ammunition, except when limiting the length of the loader. In addition, the centre of gravity of the loader and accordingly of the weapon varies according to the number of remaining cartridges.